Weekend of "To-Do"

After stalking the weather forecast I have made a "Honey Do List" and I am the honey that needs to do. The city yard waste is finally picking up for the first time since November and they don't come again until the middle of May so all of the limbs that fell and all the bushes that didn't survive the ridiculous amount of snow this winter all need to go! After work tomorrow this is what needs to be done:
1) Stop at Home Depot for 2 more sets of lights
2) De-thatch the lawn front and back
3) Spread corn gluten front and back
4) Clean and till the garden
5) Cut back old perennial growth
6) Chop down broken bush and tree limbs
7) Clean up under bird feeders
8) Clean bird houses
9) Clear out flower beds and raspberry patch
10) Fertilize asparagus bed

Then after all that is done I can add to the list - cleaning off the back porch, emptying out the worm bin and adding a new layer, start the Brussels Sprouts and cabbage seeds, finally plant the peas, and the worst job of all - the Spring poop run around the yard! Oh how I wish dog waste could go in the compost bin. With three dogs (two of mine and one of my mom's) the poop gets a little crazy during the winter because neither of us wants to head out in thigh deep snow to pick it up. This makes for an awful Spring clean up!

After all is said and (hopefully) done a glass or several of wine will be well deserved!!!!

Still Waiting for Spring

So according to the calendar it is Spring however, I think Mother Nature disagrees. Either that or she has a serious case of PMS. Friday was April Fools Day and this was no joke.

Yup, we got about 3 inches on April 1. Which obviously means my peas have not yet been planted. The ground is frozen solid - still!.

It has been in the mid 40's low 50's over the past couple of days so majority of the snow has melted but there is still random patches hanging around like the uninvited dinner guest.
The good news is that everything i planted last weekend has already begun to sprout! Well, everything except the Swiss chard, but I can be patient, it isn't like I can plant them outside anytime soon. I was also able to find a few more lights at a different Home Depot. I got 4 more but could really use another two. Once I add a few more starting trays to the shelves I will load another picture so you can see the final 'ghetto light system' I rigged up. It may not be fancy, but it works and that is all that matters!

The Season Has Begun!

I was on vacation for a week and have a lot of catching up to do! Between laundry, email, work and assuring the dogs that I will not be leaving them again for a l-o-n-g time it has been a hectic week. I started some of my seeds over the weekend.


From top to bottom I have: wildflowers (I think, I didn't label the package), lettuce, shasta daisy, kale, Swiss chard, spinach and under the lights three types of tomatoes. It isn't recommended to start spinach and chard indoors but I have not had any luck with direct seeding them. The chard came up last year but some critter got to it and I think the birds stole my spinach seeds. I figure if it doesn't germinate I still have plenty of seeds to try again.

I went to Home Depot to buy more lights and mistakenly bought ones that needs to be hard wired, not plugged in. Needless to say, those were retuned. I haven't been able to find florescent lights that can plug in, yet I have two from last year. I refuse to pay over $60 for a grow light system from the gardening supply places. I am sure shop lights will work just fine. Now only if I could find them!

The beginning of next week should fill in the greenhouse nicely. I have to start my Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage and something else that I can't remember right now. I ordered my potatoes today from Henry Fields. A pretty good deal too - 2lbs for $9.99!!! Considering you can get 10X the amount once harvested I think I will have plenty of potatoes!

Ideally I would like to start the Spring garden this weekend but the forecast is calling for snow on Friday. Yup, snow on April Fool's Day and it is no joke. I am thinking my peas and such won't get in the ground until the end of April this year.

So much work to be done!

These two pictures show you what type of work I have in store for me. This is the yard of the abandoned house across the street that my neighbor and I have decided to make into a semi-community garden.
Most of the knee-high weeds were taken out prior to this picture and a very small amount of the leaves. There is so much more to do! We need to clear the whole area, till the soil, order compost (no one can make THATmuch, section it off, find and place walking paths - ugh - so much to do and so little time! The last frost will be here before I know it (typically May 5th around these parts). Oh and the size of the grubs I found in what little area I was in was amazing! Curled up they were the size of quarters - the local wild bird population will love me one I set those suckers loose!
On a separate note I built my raised bed for my asparagus yesterday. I realized that I am not the best with screws, drivers, drills and L-brackets. It looked ok to me but that friggin' thing fell apart today when I was adding in my compost and manure! Forget the screws - I am going straight to the old fashioned hammer and nail.
I also planted some spinach seeds in my window boxes as well as two different types of lettuce seeds indoors. It is only March and this New England weather can turn in a second. I thought about putting my boots away, or at least away from the back door, but figured I will wait till the last frost just to be safe : )